Tag: Narinjara
Four-killed-twelve-injured-and-many-missing-after-army-shoots-boat-in-kyauktaw
Sittwe: Four Arakanese were killed, twelve injured and many others are missing after the Burmese army fired simultaneous shots on an engine-boat driving on the upper Kaladan River in Kyauktaw in Arakan State.
A local elder told Narinjara that dead bodies from the incident are being kept in the public hospital in Kyauktaw and that he witnessed a youth’s dead body being brought to the hospital on Saturday morning when he was there.
“I saw the dead body of a youth identified as Maung Win Hlaing from Alaekyaun Village being brought to the hospital ”, said the elder.
He said that the dead body of Ko Tun Aye Thar, who was also killed in the army’s shooting, was brought to the hospital early morning on Saturday.
“There are now already four who were killed, twelve injured and others onboard that are missing after the army’s boat shooting”, he said.
The four who were found dead after the incident are identified as 28-year old Htwee Hla Sein, 23 year-old Oo Kyaw Hla, Ko Tun Aye Thar and Ko Maung Win Hlaing. They are said to be from the villages of Ton Ma, Lak Pru, Thar Se and Alae Kyaun in Kyauktaw Township.
The engine-boat driving in the Kaladan River was said to be shot with a barrage of bullets by the army from the river-bank near Taung Bwe Village in upper Kyauktaw Township around 4 pm on 25th of October.
“We cannot say why the army shot the boat, but it is likely that the army assumed the boat was coming to attack the Muslim villages. All people onboard the boat were killed, wounded and many are still missing because the army fired continuous shots at the boat from a close distant. There were over 30 people onboard and all the remaining ones are still missing”, said the elder.
Ten out of twelve injured in the incident have been already sent to Sittwe Hospital as their injuries are serious while the most serious among them identified as Ko Than Shwe is said to have been sent to Rangoon from Sittwe by air on Saturday.
The Arakanese death toll after violence began in the region has already reached eight in Kyauktaw Township—four of them were killed in army boat shootings while the four others were killed in army shootings and clashes with Bengali Muslims in Paikthe Lak Saung Kauk Village.
There are now 14 Arakanese who were killed in army shootings during this fresh violence around Arakan State—2 in Rathedaung, 2 in Minbya, 4 in Mrauk-U and 6 in Kyauktaw respectively. According to news reports, there are causalities in other violence-hit areas due to army shootings as well.
It has also been learnt that army shootings injured 12 Arakanese in Rathedaung Township, 15 in Kyauktaw Township and over 30 in other violence-hit areas in Arakan State.
An ailing youth was reportedly arrested by police instead of his brother who is suspected of activist activities in Sittwe
Sittwe: An ailing youth was reportedly arrested by police instead of his brother who is suspected of activist activities in Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State, in an operation to ward off any untoward events marking the 4th anniversary of the monk-led protest popularly known as the Saffron Revolution.
A local youth activist told Narinjara that the police have arrested and are holding the youth in detention because they could not find his older brother – identified as Zaw Chay (a) Zaw Zaw – during their raid on his residence in Ohntapun Ward in Sittwe.
“The police raided Zaw Chay’s residence at 11 pm last Monday, [26 September, 2011], to arrest him, but as they could not find him, they have taken away his ailing younger brother and are holding him in custody at Police Station No. 1 in the town instead,” said the activist.
He said the police were following Zaw Chay because he was involved in leading commemoration of the 72nd anniversary of Venerable U Ottama Day on 9 September, 2011.
“The police have wanted him since he participated in the frontline for commemorating Ven. U Ottama Day, but more probably they attempted to arrest him because news is spreading that a monk-led protest will be carried out in the town to mark the 4th anniversary of the Saffron Revolution,” he said.
According to other sources, the police had launched unexpected checks on the hotels and some residences during the night on 26 September, 2011, in the town regarding the news of the monk-led protests to be held inmemory of the Saffron Revolution on the following day.
The armed police were also deployed on every corner, including the Buddhist pagodas and monasteries in the town on 27 September, and phone and internet connections were cut for several hours on the day.
The youth activist said the police have been keeping Zaw Chay’s brother in custody in order to force Zaw Chay to surrender to them, as well as to intimidate people away from becoming involved in the movement against the Burmese regime.
“Zaw Chay’s brother is still in custody, even though Zaw Chay has already escaped, and this kind of arbitrary arrest has been the usual practice the authorities’ forces have been perpetuating with impunity in our state, especially on those who are involved in political movements, through the ages of Burmese military regimes in order to force the main suspect to surrender to them and intimidate people away from movements opposing their rule. Now the other family members are worried for the youth who is suffering from an ailment,” he added. narinjara news
Nearly 80 Suspected Taliban Members Arrested in Burma
Maungdaw: 80 local Muslims who are suspected of having connections to the militant Islamic Taliban have been arrested by Burmese border security force Nasaka in northwestern Maungdaw in Arakan State, Burma.
A source in Nasaka told Narinjara that a secret network of the militant group was revealed in the township after a senior member was arrested in the area by Nasaka forces.
The arrested man was identified as former VPDC chairman U Zaw Win, alias Kalu, from Kha Maung Seik Village in northern Maungdaw.
“On a secret tip, the Nasaka forces raided Kalu’s residence on 4 March and found the seal and documents of his group, identified as the Islamic Taliban Organization. Nasaka arrested Kalu on the same day and consequently conducted a crackdown on his network. 80 people have so far been arrested and detained at Nasaka headquarters in Kyi Kan Pyin,” said the source on condition of anonymity.
According to the source, a Taliban militant known as Moulivi Harun had given the group training in combat and bomb making deep in the jungles of northern Maungdaw on the Bangladesh border last February.
Harun has not yet been arrested and is believed to be hiding out in the jungles on the Bangladesh side of the border, said the source.
“Most of the arrestees are residents of Kha Maung Seik Village Tract, Kuen Thi Pin Village Group and Aung Tha Pyi Village. However, no weapons or ammunition was seized from them,” added the source, who refused to give further details.
Nasaka has stepped up its security and is imposing a curfew in northern Maungdaw while still searching for alleged members of the group in the area.
http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=2902
democracy for burma 